Maiko's Note
They called her the womb of steel. But wombs are meant to let go.
It’s strange, isn't it? A ship meant to set people free became a prison. A dream became a hierarchy. A rebellion gave birth to the forest, the desert, the tide — and eventually, to you.
And me.
The Empire hunts her bones, thinking they’ll find weapons. The Endulani whisper her name like a bedtime warning. I see her differently: not a machine, not a myth — but a mother who tried her best… and failed with dignity.
The Generation Ship
Shindjal: Te Gandundjun
Faction:
Rothbard Foundation
"From the steel womb we were born, but its bones are buried, and its blood forgotten."
1. Overview
The Theseus was the generational spaceship that brought the ancestors of all current Madunian peoples from Earth. Meant as a vessel of freedom and rebirth, it instead became a site of social breakdown and rebellion. Though lost and buried in myth, its influence shaped the cultures, languages, and struggles of the entire planet.
2. Origins & Background
Commissioned by the Rothbard Foundation, the Theseus was designed to carry humanity to a distant world where civilization could restart under libertarian ideals. Over multiple generations, class divisions hardened aboard the ship. As power concentrated among the elites, resentment boiled over. The oppressed classes rose up, dismantled the hierarchy, and cast aside the original mission. This rebellion gave birth to a new order - but true tribal identities only emerged after landfall on Madun.
3. Cultural / Environmental Context
Life aboard Theseus was artificial yet self-sustaining. The ship contained climate-regulated biospheres, agricultural bays, and a compact ecosystem with livestock and hydroponics. After the crash, most knowledge was lost or fragmented. The Endulani retained fragments through oral traditions and hidden texts. The Empire etched recovered data into stone within its megalithic Hall of Records. For both, the ship is a symbol: of origin, of failure, and of power.
4. Role in the World
The Theseus represents a holy grail to the Imperi kòu Handjelani. The Subrim Komándan seeks its technology to reinforce dominion. Meanwhile, the Endulani honor it as a fading memory, unworthy of resurrection but key to understanding themselves. English, the ship’s language, survives among scholars on both sides, enabling access to its legacy. Whoever rediscovers the Theseus could tip the balance of the world.
5. Language & Terminology
"Theseus" (original Earth designation, kept as-is)
"the ship" - common mythic reference
"the womb of steel"
"elajun ajiwa" ("never again", spoken in ritual when referencing the ship's downfall)
English texts and data carvings in both Empire and Endulani temples derive from the ship’s original records
6. Notable Locations / Figures
Robert B. Dunlin - Earth-born founder of the Rothbard Foundation, idealistic original mission commander
The Hall of Records - stone repository in the capital city, carved with English archives
Bvaborul kòu Shint'twal - Endulani mountain hall preserving oral and carved remnants of pre-landing lore
7. Lore Snippets or Anecdotes
"The Endulani children once believed the stars above whispered ship-words. That if you stared hard enough, you could remember the walls of your great-grandmother’s cradle of steel."
"The Empire calls it legacy. We call it a grave. Let it rust."
Maiko's Note
They called her the womb of steel. But wombs are meant to let go.
It’s strange, isn't it? A ship meant to set people free became a prison. A dream became a hierarchy. A rebellion gave birth to the forest, the desert, the tide — and eventually, to you.
And me.
The Empire hunts her bones, thinking they’ll find weapons. The Endulani whisper her name like a bedtime warning. I see her differently: not a machine, not a myth — but a mother who tried her best… and failed with dignity.
